HORRIFIC details are emerging about Cleveland abductee Michele Knight's difficult past, including an alleged gang-rape before her decade-long kidnapping.

Knight is also reported to have given police crucial evidence indicating there may have been more victims, telling authorities she was unsure how many women were detained inside the house.

It's alleged she suffered up to five miscarriages while imprisoned and lived in darkness for long stretches of time.

Knight said she lost her babies due to starvation, after it was alleged that Ariel Castro starved her for two weeks and "repeatedly punched her in the stomach until she miscarried".

She also alleged she was forced to deliver Amanda Berry's baby under threat of death if the baby died, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Knight said that when the newborn stopped breathing, she revived her through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

While Berry and DeJesus have been released from hospital, Knight is continuing her recovery.

19 Action News reports she is being treated at Metro Health Medical Centre for anxiety, and reports she may undergo reconstructive surgery to "heal injuries suffered at the hands of her attacker during her decade in captivity".

"When she was severely beaten, he had beat her so bad in the face, she has to have facial reconstruction, and she's lost hearing in one ear," her grandmother, Deborah Knight said.

But it is unclear whether those injuries were sustained during her imprisonment or whether it was due to a gang-rape which allegedly occurred in junior high school, one year before her August 2002 disappearance.

Knight's grandmother claims three of her classmates "grabbed her by the arm and raped her at school".

Knight bore a child after the ordeal, a boy named Joey. She later lost custody of the child who was placed in foster care, reports the Daily News.

Knight's brother, Freddie, was the first person to visit her in hospital the night she was rescued. He said she spoke little of her capture, but that she "looked white as a ghost".

"She was, like, 'Give me a hug'," he said. "She was so freaking happy. I gave her a hug, but I couldn't give her a bear hug because of all the things that happened to her.

"She wants to start a new life, have the whole family there. I’m gonna teach her to use a computer and stuff like that."

When Knight disappeared in Cleveland in 2002, authorities made little fuss in comparison to Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, dubbed by local press as "two of Cleveland’s most famous missing persons".

While the latter pair’s disappearances were deemed suspicious by police, it was thought Knight had run away because she was disgruntled her son had been removed from her custody. This may be the reason why she was not listed as a Missing Person by the state of Ohio.

Knight, 32, was last seen at her cousin’s house in West Cleveland just a couple of blocks away from where Berry and DeJesus vanished in 2003 and 2004.

WEWS-TV reports 52-year-old Castro had offered a lift home to Knight and Berry, instead taking them to his house.

She was 20 when she disappeared. "Shorty", as she was known to friends and family, was a legal adult at the time of disappearance and it is likely this led to a short-lived investigation into her disappearance.

According to local newspaper The Plain Dealer, Knight’s missing persons report is "brief" and claims Knight suffers from a "mental condition" and "frequently was confused by her surroundings".

Her grandmother, Deborah Knight, said her granddaughter had a close relationship with her mother, Barbara Knight, who was left to post missing persons flyers throughout Cleveland’s west side by herself long after police halted their search.

Barbara Knight said she "never believed that her daughter would disappear without a trace, without so much as an occasional phone call".

Even after she moved to Miami, she would occasionally return to the area and search on her own.

Barbara has described her daughter as a popular girl at school, with a talent for drawing and love of animals.

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Comments on this story

Anna of Melbourne Posted at 12:39 PM May 08, 2013

It is a sad fact that society is selective I have to agree, Jill Meagher got incredible coverage, but that Asian girl
"Bung" who disappeared on her way to school seem forgotten.
Why we don't give everyone equal coverage is beyond my comprehension.

Comment 1 of 13

serendipity Posted at 12:54 PM May 08, 2013

Yeah, I wanted to see a photo of Michele Knight, it's like she's been dehumanised. It appears she was deemed "mentally ill" so therefore they didn't bother with her. There should be more done to find Bung. Go through the surrounding neighbourhoods, look for bordered windows etc.

Comment 2 of 13

Jaques of Sydney Posted at 12:55 PM May 08, 2013

Anna of Melbourne, If clear racism is beyond your comprehension. You have issues

Comment 3 of 13

Sydney Posted at 1:15 PM May 08, 2013

Very sad...Police need to be given more resources (here and overseas) to look for missing persons. Media need to step up and report equally on missing persons, not just the ones they think a news worthy.

Comment 4 of 13

Observer of Sydney Posted at 1:21 PM May 08, 2013

If you are white and reasonably attractive then you get the attention. If the two younger girls were black, well we may never have heard about them.

Comment 5 of 13

Jayna Posted at 1:23 PM May 08, 2013

I'm glad this article was posted, I was truly wondering why nothing was being said about this girl. How terribly sad for her family. I'm glad she has been returned to them now.

Comment 6 of 13

brisdan Posted at 1:24 PM May 08, 2013

Society is set up in a way that certain people are protected and other people are always suspected. If a person deemed suspicious is the victim of a crime, you can forget about justice. It doesn't exist for them. They would not be considered a victim of the crime, but rather 'involved' in the crime.

@Anna of Melbourne
I totally agree with you. It is so sad that people go missing all the time and they don't get any exposure yet Jill Meagher got all the focus. Feel for the famalies of the missing people who get no voice.

Comment 9 of 13

Miles of Adelaide Posted at 1:36 PM May 08, 2013

Jaques of Sydney, get off your high horse. What evidence do you have that 'racism' is any part of this apart from your OWN skewed views!? The reason Jill Meagher's story got so much media coverage is.....she was part of the media!!! She worked for ABC so of course they are going to plaster the story everywhere. It's people like you who see 'racism' in everything that are the real discriminators.

Comment 10 of 13

Nicole of Brisbane Posted at 2:31 PM May 08, 2013

I am sorry, but I have read and seen nothing about Michele apart from this article and her name mentioned in others. I have not seen anywhere that it mentions the colour of her skin, her religious beliefs or her heritage. Can someone please point me in the direction of this information so that I can make an informative view on the police and media actions. Thus far, I see an over worked police department who try to sift through their workload by priorities and its a sad fact that at times they make mistakes, they are only human and believe it or not ..... ITS NOT INTENTIONAL....I am so thankful that the girls are found alive and can live the majority of their lives free

Comment 11 of 13

Ron of Sydney Posted at 2:39 PM May 08, 2013

Well I've heard of Jill Meagher, heard of Allison Baden-Clay, heard of Samantha Knight but never heard of Bung. 1 of these is not like the other....hmmm.

Comment 12 of 13

Johno Posted at 2:41 PM May 08, 2013

Why can you lot not just get past using the racism card with everything. As for people comparing "Bung" to Jill Meagher, Jill was already a media person and there were witnesses plus video footage that helped catch the guy. Yet with all the focus it did not help her did it! Bung disappeared with no trace how do you suppose that the Police keep a bigger focus on her with out any evidence of what happened. Bung had plenty of media coverage. As for looking for boarded up windows and going through surrounding areas. Really? You do not think that was not done during the period of the original searches. Police can not afford to assign officers to cold cases that are leading no where, But they are not forgotten.

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